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I did a thread here a while back to this forum and did not have anytime to post picture's or explain everything the way wanted to.I'm new to this forum and many of you don't me very well and just to let you know a little bit about myself I'm the kind of person who won't tell you to buy something unless it is better then great,if you were to ask my friends I'm never happy just leaving something alone I always have to make it better or improve on it some how to get better result's or performance.

I know Mark the owner of this forum had never seen a KME System before and when I talked with him on the phone about getting some Shapton Glass stones cut for the KME he said he has seen the Gatco and the Lansky but never the KME System and liked the many improvement's it has over the other systems.

First I'll talk about some of the advantage's of the KME over the other system's,first the KME use's a much better Rod guide and unlike the Lansky and the Gatco the Rod does not flop around because it goes into a hole not a slot,the Lansky and Gatco are also prone to the stone tipping over if you try to sharpen to fast.

The second advantage of the KME and by far the best is in my opinion and everyone else's who has ever used all 3 of the systems I'm talking is the rubber pad's in the jaws the knife does not slip out time after time.

The third advantage would have to be is that the jaws that hold the knife rotate and so you flip the knife when you want to move onto the other side,also there is a spring on the unit as well I talk more about later and it stops the jaws from rotating if you have a heavier handled knife and all you need to do is turn the nob to ad more pressure and your done.

The fourth advantage would be is that you can set this unit up to sharpen at any angle you please unlike the Lansky and Gatco system's out there.

As far as the Edge Pro goes I have nothing against it other then I feel the KME is a better System where as I feel Gatco's and Lansky's are the most ill-conceived systems ever thought up,they never seem to want to improve their systems where as KME is always doing something new.As far as I can see and from what many people have told me on Forums the Edge Pro takes longer to set up and you need to re-adjust for different stone thickness's,where as with the KME I just push ahead on the spring loaded rod and stick the knife in and check the angle with my digital angle finder and I'm off and running and I don't have to worry if one of my stones is thicker or not I can just change it out without worrying about stone being thicker or thinner and throwing my angle out.

Also every single peace on the KME including the Rod Rod holder the jaws everything period is warrantied for life,I have had people who told me they needed a new part because of something they did like dropping or something like that and Ron shipping them out the part they need.The only thing not warrantied is if you drop a sharpening stone and break it.

KME has be around for a while and is best known in the hunting circles for sharpening Hunting knives and Arrow heads and don't fooled it can sharpen any Kitchen knife just as good if not better then anything else on the market.One thing about Ron that should be mentioned is he is very proud that every single peace on the KME is made in the USA and is keeping jobs where they are needed and although I'm Canadian I can respect that in a man.

One other thing about Ron is that if you get a KME and need to talk to him on the phone you'll find he likes to talk and is one of the warmest and most kind hearted people you could ever ask to meet and you can tell that after about 1 minute of talking to him and you'll feel like he is a best friend you have known all your life,Ron is very good at making sure you understand what you need to do and will take the time to help and answer and question's you may have and won't rush to get off the(Ron if your reading this I could hardly hear out of my ear from the last time we talked I went to the ear Doctor and he said the damage is permanent so I talked to my Lawyer he is going to call you first thing Monday LOL)

Now onto the best part the Picture's that what you have all been waiting for isn't it.

This is a pic of the front side and how I set it up to set my angle,also I'm just using a cheap jewelers Vice as I don't have a shop at my house it's across town so I came up with this to act as an extra set of hands.The part in the vice is a Washer welded to the side of the head of a bolt that is a perfect fit for the hole in the KME.

The thing I'm pointing to is the old spacer and you need to ask Ron for a 3/4 instead of a 1/2 inch one,I have to talk to Ron and see if the 3/4 is going to be the standard one included in the kit.Also need to get the longer jaws as well and I think Ron may swap those out for the short ones if you ask him for the longer ones.The reason for the longer spacer is to move the Big Black Plastic Wing Nut back so you'll have more clearance for the stone as it will hit at really low angles and this is supposed to fix that problem and the longer jaws move the knife out farther witch does 2 thing's it allow's you to sharpen at lower angle then the standard jaws plus it also allows you to sharp really small pockect knives.

If you look at the top picture then this one again you'll see that the Rod holder is flipped upside down and that is done to allow us maniac's with Japanese Chef knives to get real low with are angles.It only takes about 5 seconds to flip it over and can be left like that.

This is how I start to set the angle,I put the angle finder or angle cube whatever you want to call it on the table I have my vice clamped to and the zero it out.

Now I make sure that the KME is set to 90 degree's.Also if you look at the washer welded to the bolt it is so I can use it as a pivot point to move the KME back and forth so I can set the KME's back at 90 degree's before I set my sharpening angle,I have the washer tightened down a bit in the vice and when I find 90 I tighten it up more to hold it in place.

Now I set the angle I want to sharpen at and it is important to set the KME at 90 Degree's before you set your sharpening angle or you'll be off,it may not look like there is any clearance for the stone to not rub on the jaws but there is,I have sharpened this knife once already as both of my Japanese Chef knives are fairly new and I have not had them to long,I sharpened it once already at 12 degree's and will keep going lower each time until it is dull then back it off a half or full degree.

Here is a pic of my Fujiwara Santoku set at 9 Degree's,I have not sharpened this knife yet and in both pic's I'm only setting it this low so you can see how low it can go,the Fujiwara got a better angle because it's spine is taller and allowed me to set it out farther in the jaws.

Here is a pic of my ZT0560 Knife and man what a sweet knife good old ELMAX steel stays so sharp,and it was sharpened on my KME.

This is one of my 2 ZT0566's and I got this thing scary sharp at 20 Degree's per-side with 100% no pressure and holding it on my arm I can shave the hair off my arm by adjusting the angle and pulling the knife along,I finished this one with a 10000K Chosera.

And there you have it folks a good Sharpening system made in the USA by good people who truly stand behind what they sell.

wade7575

Post subject: Re: Another Alternative to the Edge Pro.

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 6:31 am

Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:03 amPosts: 27

There is one other thing I forgot to mention and it' just a simple mod I did,if the KME has one fault it's this in my opinion and that is that the guide Rod comes loose when sharpening but it is an extremely cheap and easy fix.

I used JB Weld and put it around the top of the nut and on the Guide rod so now I can use a wrench to tighten it,I hold the wrench so it is in the 12 O clock postion and I move it half to 2/3rds of the way to 1 O Clock as no more is needed,if you want to leave your guide rod in the stone holder all the time you can and just tighten it once,but for me I don't leave out on a bench as I don't have one.

I would have used red Loctite on the nut if I had any so I had to improvise.

wade7575

Post subject: Re: Another Alternative to the Edge Pro.

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 6:56 am

Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:03 amPosts: 27

These are KME's new Gold Series Diamond hones that kick ass compared to the DMT ones.The Gold Series cut a little faster but the important thing is they last way long then the DMT ones.I know my DMT did not last long at all and with the Gold series sharpening friends and family's knives plus my own I have done 189 knives yes 189 that's right I have a log I'm keeping and everytime I grab for a Gold series hone it gets marked in the book,I always use a Diamond hone the first time I sharpen a knife for the very first time or if it's really bad,it's to the point now a lot of times I tell my friends and family to do it themselves as I have no interest unless it's my knife or there's going to be some coin exchanging hands as I don't want to wear out my Rotator Cuff like my Mother who has 2 really badly worn out ones.

Also I almost forgot here's a link KME's website I hope you enjoy this product introduction.

Thanks for the over view. Looks like a nice system. I do like the clamp idea for the small folders. Getting them to sit flat and consistent is tough on the edge pro.

What is the diameter of the stone rod? looks like it would be trivial to swap it out for custom or edge-pro (if you want to use larger stones...)

wade7575

Post subject: Re: Another Alternative to the Edge Pro.

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 7:13 pm

Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:03 amPosts: 27

It is the same size as a 5/32 drill bit,I measured it and the KME rod was 0.155 on my calipers and a 5/32 drill bit was 0.153

wade7575

Post subject: Re: Another Alternative to the Edge Pro.

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 7:16 pm

Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:03 amPosts: 27

DarkStar with the new longer jaws the KME will really shine at doing smaller pocket knives,go over to their site and look at the jaws and you will see where they are showing some pocket knives with some fairly short spines being sharpened.

Knifeman CAN

Post subject: Re: Another Alternative to the Edge Pro.

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:28 am

Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 7:33 pmPosts: 30

Wow, I didn't know the KME can handle 9 degree!!! I thought it goes down to 17 degree max . Okay, I really need to get an angle cube.

The major issue with the KME is its inability to handle longer than 10" knives - that's why I am considering the Edge Pro.

Knifeman CAN

Post subject: Re: Another Alternative to the Edge Pro.

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:37 am

Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 7:33 pmPosts: 30

Here are my KME photos

Knifeman CAN

Post subject: Re: Another Alternative to the Edge Pro.

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 8:12 am

Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 7:33 pmPosts: 30

Wade, thanks for the tip about aligning the sharpener to 90 degree before setting the angle! As you say the rod does come off!

Nmiller21k

Post subject: Re: Another Alternative to the Edge Pro.

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 8:21 pm

Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:21 pmPosts: 772Location: Minneapolis, MN

how does the stone move down the length of the blade do you have to unclamp and move?

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